


The Current

by lostcrusades



Series: Undertow [1]
Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Boats and Ships, M/M, Maritime AU, Pre-Relationship, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-15
Updated: 2018-10-15
Packaged: 2019-08-02 07:57:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16301126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostcrusades/pseuds/lostcrusades
Summary: Dan, looking for some sort of job, joins a boat crew. The ship's captain is a little mysterious, though.





	The Current

**Author's Note:**

> this au was created in part with the ship party squad, and this fic was beta-ed by the amazing jay <3

“Name.”

“Leigh Daniel Avidan. But Dan is preferred,” Dan said, trying to mask the nervousness in his voice. He handed over his packet to the man in front of him. He flipped through it curiously, humming thoughtfully. The man was built, nearly twice Dan’s size. He would be incredibly intimidating, were it not for the ponytail he was sporting, with a couple stray hairs sticking to his face. 

“You’re here on good reputation. You don’t have much going for you in the way of experience,” he looked up to Dan, looking his body up and down. Dan blushed at being inspected so closely. “Or strength. But we can find work for you somewhere, I’m sure of it.”

Dan bit his lip and watched as the man took his papers and filed them away into a folder. He then looked up at Dan, smiling, and stuck out his hand. 

“I’m Arin Hanson, first mate of this ship. It’s good to have you on board, Avidan.”

“Uh, yeah. It’s nice to meet you, Arin. I’m glad to be here,” Dan said, shaking Arin’s hand. Arin raised an eyebrow at Dan’s tone but didn’t say anything. 

“Listen, I’m not to hard on it, especially since you’re new. But call me ‘sir’ when you’re on duty,” Arin said.

“Oh, fuck, wait- I shouldn’t curse, I-I’m sorry, sir. I won’t happen again,” Dan fumbled out, face blushing crimson in embarrassment. 

Arin chuckled and shook his head. “Like I said, don’t sweat it so much especially with me. The captain is another story though. I’ll have someone see you to your quarters. Dinner is at seventeen hundred hours. I’ll see you there,” Arin said, turning to talk to the next person in line as Dan walked away. 

Dan stood there awkwardly as he waited, looking around at everything nervously. Even in port, the boat was rocking slightly, making his stomach churn. Or maybe that was just the nerves. 

A man walked up to him then, a bit shorter than Dan, hair short and unkempt. 

“You new?” The man asked, looking Dan over.

“Yeah, I was told to wait here and that I would-”

“Come with me.”

Dan looked stunned for a second, then followed after the man, who had already headed down a different hallway. 

“I’m O'Donovan. Ross O'Donovan. I’m the captain’s lead mapmaker. What’s your name?”

“Dan Avidan. I… don’t know what my job will be yet. Mister Hanson said that something would be found for me.”

Ross hummed thoughtfully. “We’ve been in need of a few extra hands, so I’m sure we’ll find somewhere for you in no time,” he said with a smile. “Ah, here. All of the new hires are in this row of cabins. You’ll be sharing with someone, but we all do. You’ll get used to it eventually.”

Dan looked at the door cautiously, then back to Ross, a grateful smile on his face. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll see you around, Avidan,” Ross said, turning to head back down the hall. 

“Wait!” Dan said, causing Ross to turn around, head cocked curiously. “I have yet to see any of the captain. When will I meet him?”

Ross grimaced at that and frowned a bit. “Captain Wecht is a bit… elusive, especially around new hires. You’ll meet him eventually, but Mister Hanson is the first person you go to if you have issues. I would advise you to not bother the captain if it can be avoided. See you later, Avidan.”

Dan watched as Ross walked down the hallway until he disappeared, then sighed. He pushed open the door to his cabin and tossed his bag on the floor before collapsing onto the bed on the right. For a commercial boat the staterooms were quite nice, better than Dan was expecting. 

Christ, why had he picked up this job? He knew he was low on money, but low enough to warrant a job on a ship, where he was likely to not see dry land for a long time? Let alone his own family?

Dan shook his head. It was best not to dwell on that now. Time for minor existential crises would come later. For now, it was nearing dinner time, and he should be heading up to the galley. He dragged himself out of bed and up to the deck where the galley was. The small room was already starting to fill up, and Dan felt a brief flare of panic. 

It faded once he saw Ross sitting at a table with a few other people, and walked over as Ross saw him and waved him over.

“Hey, man! Come sit!” Ross said, pulling out a chair for Dan. “Guys this is Dan, he’s one of the new hires.”

The rest of the group smiled and waved, before getting back to their food. Ross watched them carefully for a moment, then looked back to Dan. 

“They’re just busy, don’t worry about them. I’ll go get you some food, one second,” Ross said, getting up, leaving Dan to his own devices for a moment. 

There were two other people sitting at the table, a man with short, brown hair a thick beard, and a woman with long black hair, pulled back in a braid. They seemed exhausted and not interested in talking, so Dan kept to himself. 

Ross came back a minute or two later with a tray full of food. He plopped it down in front of Dan, grinning widely. 

“Thanks,” Dan said, taking a bite. The food wasn’t anything fantastic, but hey, he hadn’t eaten all day. 

“So, this is Suzy Berhow,” Ross pointed to the woman, “And Barry Kramer,” he pointed to the man. “Suzy is the lead engineer and Barry is the lead navigator. Guys, this is Dan Avidan. Newbie.”

Suzy looked to Dan and smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Dan. I hope you enjoy your time on board.”

“Yeah, welcome,” Barry said giving Dan a small wave.

“Are… are we able to use first names? I keep getting mixed signals,” Dan asked, blushing a little bit as Suzy laughed at his question. 

“Do you not have any experience with being on a ship crew?” Barry asked, slightly confused. When Dan shook his head, his eyes went a little wide.

Ross snickered then slapped Dan on the back. “First names are fine when we’re all off duty, like now. I would just advise you to ignore that when it comes to the first mate and the captain. They’re a special case.”

“Ah, okay,” Dan said, still feeling a bit awkward. 

Ross, Suzy, and Barry all started laughing and telling stories while Dan sat on the sidelines and ate quietly. The room quickly filled with more and more people as time went on, and Dan found himself just observing. 

After a bit of time, Dan noticed a man standing at the edge of the room, watching silently. His arms were crossed and his eyebrows furrowed. His hair was dark but starting to grey and his stubble was growing in thick. Even though he was quite shorter than the people standing near him, his aura seemed off putting, and Dan was immediately intimidated. 

The man’s gaze met Dan’s then, and Dan felt his blood run hot. They stared at each other for a moment before Dan got overwhelmed and looked away, but he could still feel the man’s gaze on the back of his head. 

“Ross, who is that?” Dan asked quietly, nudging his head toward the man.

Ross looked up for a second, then smiled. “That’s the captain, Dan.”

“Oh,” Dan said, brain short circuiting for a moment. Dan looked up again but the man was gone, making Dan furrow his eyebrows in confusion. His hands felt a little shaky, but he chalked it up to nerves. 

-

The next day, Dan found himself on deck. They had departed from port late last night, and Dan had tried to keep his mind off of it. He kept his gaze on everything but the empty, cold, dark, ocean. He shuddered.

“Avidan!” 

Dan startled at the calling of his name, and glanced around to find Arin standing on the other side of the deck, waving him over. 

“I’ve got an assignment for you, follow me,” Arin said, heading toward the middle of the ship. “Obviously you can’t function very well in a physical job, so you’ll be assisting Kramer in navigation. O’Donovan mentioned you met Kramer last night, correct?”

“I did, yes.”

Arin grinned and nodded his head. “Fantastic.” He then pushed open the door to the bridge, where Barry was talking with the captain over some maps. 

“Kramer, I have brought your new assistant. I assume you will be adept at showing Avidan the ropes around here,” Arin said, making Barry and the captain look up at Dan. 

Dan felt his heart hammer in his chest again upon making eye contact with the captain. His gaze was piercing, and Dan smiled tightly at him and Barry. 

“Happy to be of service.” 

Barry smiled at him, and directed him over to another table across the room, leaving the map he was looking at with the captain. 

“Great to have some help, Avidan. You’ll get it in no time. Just a moment while I find you a spare compass,” Barry said, then rifled through a drawer.

Dan took the time to glance over his shoulder at Arin and the captain. The captain was murmuring something to Arin that made Arin laugh. Then the two of them looked up to Dan, making Dan blush and look away. He hoped he hadn’t made that bad of a first impression already. The last thing he wanted was the captain out to get him.

“Alright, I found one. Let’s get this show on the road,” Barry said, grinning at Dan.

-

A few days had gone by since then, and there had been virtually no sign of the captain. The only time Dan had seen him were a time or two on the bridge when Dan was working. He hadn’t even shown up to dinner. Dan tried to think not much of it. It wasn’t like he was the captain’s babysitter or anything. 

Currently Dan couldn’t sleep. He had slipped out of his room easily and was quietly wandering some of the lower decks, not wanting to make a big scene or run into anyone on night shift on deck. 

He yawned into his hand and turned a corner, only to bump into someone and stumble backward. He nearly tripped but two large hands grabbed onto his upper arms, tightly, keeping him steady. 

Dan’s eyes went blurry for a moment but once they cleared he realized that it was the captain who he had run into. His eyes widened and he took a step back.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to run into you, I promise. I was ju-”

“Avidan,” Captain Wecht said, tone emotionless and terse. “Stop rambling.”

“I- uh, sorry.”

The two of them stared at each other for a moment, and Dan swallowed thickly. Something about being in the captain’s presence alone made him jittery. 

Captain Wecht’s gaze flicked around Dan’s face for a moment before he frowned. 

“You should go get some sleep. Don’t want to be tired on duty tomorrow, now do we?” He said, an eyebrow raised.

“Uh, yeah, yeah. Of course not,” Dan said.

“Good. Have a good night, Avidan,” Captain Wecht said before placing a hand on Dan’s shoulder to move him out of the way, walking toward where Dan had come from. 

Dan stood still for a moment, hand coming up to where the captain had touched him. Then he took a deep breath, and headed back to his quarters.


End file.
